Adjusting P/S Hard Lines to clear Pan

[YoursTruly]

I have come to the point in my build where I need to ensure clearance between the oil pan on my engine and the hard lines on my Miata's power steering rack.

My rack looks like the following picture:


The line in question is the small hard line on the left side which sticks up towards the oil pan.

• I really do not want to delete power steering because I intend to autocross this car on sticky tires and my forearms don't look like watermelons.
  
• Making new lines will be difficult and likely won't give me the clearance I need. Neither will Boss Frog's flexible line kit.
  
• My pan cannot be modified because it is already too tight to run the OEM windage tray.

Can I carefully bend that line down and away from my engine? What would you recommend to prevent kinking and cracking?

[jledford]

Is there any sort of 90 degree fitting you could put in that spot and then run the line directly into the side?

[YoursTruly]

Is there any sort of 90 degree fitting you could put in that spot and then run the line directly into the side?

That fitting is a m12x1.0 thread size. I cannot find many fittings of any kind in that size and using an adapter only compounds the problem. If I completely remade the line, maybe I could switch to a banjo fitting like the other line, but acquiring an m12x1.0 steel banjo fitting from inside the US isn't easy.

[engled]

A de-powered rack would't be as bad as you might think. I run some pretty wide stickys with no power steering.

You might go to a salvage yard and find the banjo fitting you need.

[rodhx]

I had a depowered rack in Miata for a while and it completely sucked on the street. I suppose it might be a different story if it's a race car only.

[YoursTruly]

A de-powered rack would't be as bad as you might think. I run some pretty wide stickys with no power steering.

You might go to a salvage yard and find the banjo fitting you need.

I am not worried about track days, but the tight turns at autocross seem like they would really be hard to manage with 5+ degrees of caster. Less caster means more static camber, which could hurt contact patch under braking.

Are you suggesting I find another NB in a salvage yard or is there another car that might have the banjo I need?

[HPEVOX]

I am not worried about track days, but the tight turns at autocross seem like they would really be hard to manage with 5+ degrees of caster. Less caster means more static camber, which could hurt contact patch under braking.

Are you suggesting I find another NB in a salvage yard or is there another car that might have the banjo I need?

De power that thang folk. But really. Driving the blue and yellow car wasn't too physically demanding at autox. After a couple of runs it felt "normal".

[YoursTruly]

De power that thang folk. But really. Driving the blue and yellow car wasn't too physically demanding at autox. After a couple of runs it felt "normal".

If I depower now, it involves either cutting the left/right assist lines and looping them or opening the cylinder and wrecking the piston. Each way could mean I need a new rack to get P/S back. Replacing just the hard lines after cutting them could be fixed, but I would bet the steel line itself is metric.

[jbass1911]

My forearms don't look like watermelons.

[YoursTruly]

My forearms don't look like watermelons.

Is your rack depowered or nonpowered?

[kilgojr]

That fitting is a m12x1.0 thread size. I cannot find many fittings of any kind in that size and using an adapter only compounds the problem. If I completely remade the line, maybe I could switch to a banjo fitting like the other line, but acquiring an m12x1.0 steel banjo fitting from inside the US isn't easy.

https://www.anplumbing.com/adapters/banjos-bolts.html?p=2

goodridge makes a short and long version of a steel banjo bolt in your size. It is about half way down the page.

[jbass1911]

Depowered. Lines looped. Only difficult when parking, but not too bad really.

[e30Racer]

granted it's not a miata, but my e30 is depowered and once the car goes past 10 miles an hour, you wouldn't know the difference unless you knew that the power steering had been deleted. Its only an issue when trying to turn the wheel and the car isn't moving. And plus, no power steering, less drag on engine, more power, more fun, more winning.

[bimmertech]

FWIW, I've never seen a competitive miata with power steering.

Just buy a manual rack then you don't have to worry about modifying any lines.

[JohnW8]

Nb manual racks are rare. Very rare. By the way, Bill Schenkers pro solo winning CSP car has a power rack.